Curtain operating mechanism



May 21, 1940. v. H. VOLLAND CURTAIN OPERATING MECHANISM Filed May 29, 1939 INVENTOR VICTOR H. VOL LAND ATTORNEY tions of said curtains.

Patented May 21, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT? OFFICE 1 Claim.

My invention relates to a curtain operating 'mechanism, and is intended to provide an improved and simpler arrangement for operating stage curtains so that no gathering or folding takes place except at the extreme outer end por- The principal object of my invention is to provide a very simple mechanism which operates on a flexible rope or cable at one end and is secured in the grommet of the curtain at the other end, aand which at certain-points of the travel of the curtain is released from the flexible rope, so that said rope may travel through the curtain carriers without moving the curtain when these devices have been released from gripping contact with said rope. In my invention the operating line moves a plate and chain device, and this device in turn operates the curtain, which being suspended as a Weighted load from the carriers moves the carriers. In my arrangement the carriers are always idlers, only supporting the load of the curtain. The operating line at no time acts with the carriers, only with the masters to which it is permanently fastened. The operating line acts with the plate and chain device with which it is operatively associated and by means of which the curtain is moved.

Fig. -1 is a diagrammatic plan view of my curtain-operating mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same.

Fig 3 is an enlarged, longitudinal, sectional view of my device.

Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken on line #l-l, Fig. 3.

I provide a trackway A for the master carriers B and intermediate carriers C to travel on. The curtains D and E are provided with a hem F in which grommets G are secured. To the carriers B and C are integrally connected slidable, tubular members I and arms 2. To projecting lugs 3 are secured chains 4 which fasten in the grommets G, preferably by S-hooks ti, by, means of which the curtains D and E are suspended from the trackway A.

The rope or cable 6 passes through the tubular members I, said cable'passing over the pulleys l.

The rope or cable 6 is the operating means for opening and closing the curtains D and E. The

outer edges of the curtains D and E are held in position in the proscenium arch by the chains curtains D and E do not continue to move under the influence ofthe rope 6.

Secured in the grommets G are a second series of chains II also having S-hooks l2 at their lower ends. To the upper ends of the chains H are secured the perforated, plate-like or drag link members I 3, the diameter of the perforations being slightly larger than the diameter of the flexible rope 6, and said rope '6 passes through I said perforations. When the plate I3 is in the position shown nearer theleft-hand side of Fig. 3, the rope 6 can slide through the perforation provided in said plate-like member 13. When. the curtains Dand E are closed and overlapped, the chains H, which are connected to the platelike members l3, hang loose, but when the operating rope 6 is pulled the plates i3 move along with the line while the carriers C stand still until the chain attached to the plates I3 is taut, thereby kinking the operating rope and thus becoming the means for. pulling the'curtains D and E toward the sides by exerting strain where the S-hook l2 fastens to the grommet G of the curtain. Since the S-hook 5, which holds the weight of the curtain on the carrier 0, is also attached to the same grommet G, the carrier 0 moves to the side until the end of the track is reached and then stops, since the plate l3 has straightened up to a vertical position, thereby removing the kink from the operating rope and allowing the curtain again to be released from the pull of the operating rope. 6.

It willbe noted that by my arrangement the weight of the curtain is always suspended from the tubular members i and the traveling carriers B and C. It is only when the plate-like member I 3 is in the. position shown in Fig. 3, where it occupies an inclined position, that the curtain is operatively connected to the cable 6. As the curtain moves to the left in Fig. 3, the plate-like member l3 strikes against the abut= ting end of a tubular member I, which tends to disconnect it from the cable 6, and thus the cable 6 may slide freely through the opening in the plate-like member l3. Thus the cable 6 may slide freely through the tubular members i and the plate-like members l3 whe'n saidv plate-like members are in a relatively vertical position, as shown in Fig. 3.

I claim:

In curtain operating apparatus the combina tion of a horizontal tubular frame formed with a longitudinal slot in its bottom wall and trackways on each side-of said slot, master and intermediate carriers mounted on the trackways and Egg having tubular rope supporting members through which a curtain operating rope passes, chains extending from the tubular members and engaging tilt into gripping contact with the operating rope by the movement 01'. said rope, said drag links being forced into gripping contact with the rope by the weight or the curtain, and stops at each end of the trackway which stop the travel of 5 the drag links and thereby disengage the same from the operating rope.

VICTOR H. voLLAND. 

